The 2007-08 school year begins soon throughout the Mahoning Valley and western Pennsylvania. Here

The 2007-08 school year begins soon throughout the Mahoning Valley and western Pennsylvania. Here are some of the new administrative appointments, significant curriculum changes and major renovations pupils will see when they return to class. Districts and schools not included either had no changes to report or did not respond to requests for information.

MAHONING COUNTY

AUSTINTOWN

Administrators: Joseph Nohra, freshman assistant principal; Kevin Snyder, middle school assistant principal; Robert Conklin, athletic administrator; Thomas Hura, director of business services.

Renovations: The new Austintown Middle School on Raccoon Road opens. The $24.5 million building will house pupils in sixth through eighth grade.

BYZANTINE CATHOLIC CENTRAL

Administrators: Bernard J. Kosar Sr., school administrator; Michael Orenic, assistant to the administrator.

Renovations: Addition of a Smart Board classroom.

EAGLE HEIGHTS ACADEMY

Curriculum: Algebra I will be added and a Peer Assisted Learning Reading Program will be introduced. Character Counts, a program focusing on teaching children to make good decisions, will also be added.

Renovations: A new computer lab and electronically enhanced building security have been added to the school.

LOWELLVILLE

Renovations: The lower front entrance to the building complex was renovated to ease crowding with entering and exiting.

MAHONING VALLEY OPPORTUNITY SCHOOL

Curriculum: New starting times: 7:30 a.m. for juniors and seniors; 10:30 a.m. for sophomores; 1:30 p.m. for freshmen.

CARDINAL MOONEY

Curriculum: Two new courses offered: individualized art studies and anatomy and physiology II.

Renovations: Guidance office and computer lab have been renovated. An all-weather artificial turf surface is being installed on the athletic field.

POLAND

Administrators: Vince Procopio, high school principal; Brian Banfield, assistant high school principal.

Curriculum: A freshman class on physical/earth science will be offered, advanced biology has been revised to meet AP criteria, and an elective class on astronomy will be offered.

Renovations: High school chemistry lab renovated and updated, five Smart Boards for foreign language and math classrooms installed in the high school, 155 new computers purchased for grades K-8 and new high school fire alarm system installed.

ST. JOSEPH THE PROVIDER, Campbell.

Administrator: Cheryl L. Jablonski, principal.

SEBRING

Administrators: Micki Egli, director of special education services.

SPRINGFIELD

Administrators: David Malone, intermediate school principal; Anthony Albanese, high school assistant principal; Dr. Maria Hoffmaster, special education coordinator.

Renovations: New computer technology and Smart Boards added to the elementary, intermediate and high schools; Preparing for a $35 million school construction project that will raze the elementary and high schools, build a new school for grades 7-12 and expand the existing intermediate school to handle K-6.

STAMBAUGH CHARTER ACADEMY

Curriculum: Sixth grade is being added to the school this fall, and new school hours will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The school will now provide transportation for Youngstown pupils.

STRUTHERS

Renovations: Major improvements have been made to the football stadium.

URSULINE

Curriculum: Incoming freshmen and transfer students will report for orientation from 7:50 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.

WEST BRANCH

Curriculum: An all-day kindergarten program will be launched this fall; Freshman Focus, a program pairing upper-class students and teachers with small freshman groups, will be introduced to assist in the transition to high school.

Renovations: A privately financed five-court tennis complex will open between the high school and middle school and a new cross-country course will be ready for use.

YOUNGSTOWN

Administrators: Damon J. Dohar, assistant superintendent for human resources; John L. Wilson, dean of Youngstown Early College; Bruce Donahue, secondary dean at East High School; Larry Johnson, Williamson Elementary principal.

Renovations: The new East High School, a $30 million project, and the renovated and expanded Chaney High School, a $25 million project, open this fall; Volney Rogers Junior High School pupils will attend classes in the old West Elementary on Hazelwood Avenue this fall as Volney is being razed and replaced.

TRUMBULL COUNTY

BROOKFIELD

Administrator: Steven Stohla, superintendent.

GIRARD

Administrators: William Ryser, high school principal; Louise Mason, junior high principal.

Curriculum: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) initiative begins; Word in Motion program begins for grades four and five; agreement with Youngstown State University that will provide college credit for certain courses completed in the high school’s Engineering Pathway program.

JOSEPH BADGER

Administrators: Mary Williams, K-4 elementary principal and K-12 special education coordinator; Pamela Sowry, K-8 counselor and K-12 testing coordinator.

Curriculum: Implementing a new English curriculum for grades 11 and 12 accentuating semester literature classes.

LIBERTY

Administrators: Mark Lucas, superintendent; Margaret Dolwick, W.S. Guy Middle School principal; Jason Menz, W.S. Guy assistant principal.

Curriculum: New middle school foreign language program implemented.

Renovations: Two new computer labs built, one in Liberty High School and the other at W.S. Guy.

ST. PATRICK SCHOOL, Hubbard

Curriculum: Italian classes will be offered for pupils in grades K-4.

WARREN

Renovations: The new $17 million Lincoln School serving pupils in kindergarten through eighth grade opens this fall.

COLUMBIANA

EAST PALESTINE

Administrators: Thomas Inchak, superintendent; Jared VanKirk, middle school principal; Jeff Richardson, elementary principal.

Curriculum: New reading program, “Success for All,” introduced in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Renovations: The football stadium, featuring seating for 2,000, synthetic turf and an eight-lane, all-weather track will be completed before the first home game.

HEARTLAND CHRISTIAN SCHOOL, Columbiana

Renovations: A new computer lab is in place for elementary school pupils, enabling the school to integrate technology into the curriculum; high school computer labs updated; Latin and French are being added in the secondary languages curriculum; advanced placement classes in English will be offered for the first time; electronic grading is being implemented to make grades available on a daily basis for pupils and parents to monitor academic progress.

SOUTHERN

Administrators: Carol Vollnogle, junior/senior high school principal; Alex Albert, junior/senior assistant high school principal; Carole Sutton, elementary school principal; Jim Ray, special education coordinator.

UNITED

Administrator: Don Feren, athletic director.

Curriculum: Implementing a pilot program to give parents of high school students access to their children’s grades and attendance using the Internet; implementing a rapid outgoing telephone message system to notify parents of school closings and emergencies.

MERCER COUNTY

GROVE CITY

Renovations: Revamping of the athletic field with an all-weather playing surface and track at the Forker Field Complex.

HERMITAGE

Administrators: Eric Trosch, Delahunty Middle School principal; William Reoth, interim Hermitage Middle School principal; Nanci Hosick, Hikory High School co-principal.

Curriculum: Developmental Reading Assessment program will be expanded to third and fourth grades; a biomechanics course added at the high school.

Renovations: A new Hermitage Elementary School will open to house fourth and fifth grades; Artman Elementary will house kindergarten through third grade; Delahunty Middle School, which is undergoing renovations, will house sixth grade.

LAKEVIEW

Administrator: David Blakley, middle school principal.

Renovations: Oakview Elementary School construction is completed.

MERCER

Renovations: Construction on the renovation of Mercer Elementary School could begin in April.

WEST MIDDLESEX

Administrators: Lawrence D. Connelly, high school principal; James J. Padula, assistant high school principal.

Curriculum: Dual-enrollment psychology class will be offered; an extended day kindergarten program will be offered to qualifying pupils.

LAWRENCE COUNTY

MOHAWK

Curriculum: A character education module will be added to the social studies curriculum in the seventh grade; the Blended Learning Program offering online courses facilitated by Mohawk faculty will be fully implemented.